Rock Pioneer Joan Jett To Get Her Rightful Place In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

This Saturday, April 18, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will, at long last, be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Among the 8 legendary groups and artists being inducted this year, Joan Jett is the only woman, which is an all too familiar spot for this fearless pioneer who has fought for everything she’s achieved over the course of her four decade plus career in the male-centric, testosterone fueled world of rock ’n’ roll.

So as she prepares to receive this long overdue honor, let’s review just how kickass Joan Jett is…

In the early 70s, when she was just 15-years-old, Joan founded the trailblazing, all-girl, punk rock fivesome… the Runaways (Joan Jett – guitar/vocals; Sandy West – drums; Cherie Currie – lead vocals; Jackie Fox – bass guitar; and Lita Ford – guitar). She also wrote most of the band’s songs, including their 1976 hit “Cherry Bomb.” The group recorded four albums between 1976 and 1978, and also went on tour. As WYSK noted in a November 2014 piece, “Their fandom was sometimes called the next Beatlemania.” Joan eventually took over as the Runaways frontwoman after Cherie and Jackie left.

“Girls see these defined roles they’re supposed to follow in life, but when I was a young child, my parents told me I could be anything.”

When the Runaways completely disbanded in 1979, Joan refocused and got to work on a solo album. But when it came time to find a distributor, she had the proverbial door slammed in her face by 23 different record labels. According to a recent Inquisitr article, “In those early days, Jett remembers having to defend her gender to everyone in the music industry and, at times, even to would-be fans. Joan recalls sending the same four songs to each of the record labels she approached (“I Love Rock ‘N Roll,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me,” and “Bad Reputation”) and receiving rejections from every one of those labels.”

As the Blackhearts leader, Joan’s had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including… “Bad Reputation,” “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll,” “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” and “Crimson and Clover.” Yep… the very same songs that almost two dozen myopic record label heads previously rejected. Today, over three decades later, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are still touring around the world for legions of diehard fans.

“I figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. At a very young age, I decided I was not going to follow women’s rules.”

But Joan’s success is not isolated to her being a legendary frontwoman, musician, and songwriter. As a producer, she has overseen albums by Bikini Kill, Circus Lupus, as well as the Germs. In actively signing new bands to her Blackheart Records label, she says, “It’s a place where girls can feel comfortable to be – both in a work environment and on an artistic level.”

Cementing her status as a pop culture icon, Joan has also acted in movies and television, including 1987’s Light Of Day, and the Tony-nominated Broadway musical The Rocky Horror Show, as well as on shows like Law & Order. Her music is also heard in countless films and TV shows including Kick Ass, The Runaways, Shrek, Baby Mama, to name a few. A version of “I Hate Myself for Loving You” has even been used on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

One year ago, in April 2014, to commemorate Nirvana’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band’s surviving members, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Krist Novoselic, recruited four women rockers to front the band where Kurt Cobain once stood. Joan Jett kicked-off the four song tribute and sang Nirvana’s mega-hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Joan was followed by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, and Lorde. Check out Joan in all her badass action…

So how do you sum up a living legend like Joan Jett, a woman with an enviable sense of self, who never gave a damn about her bad reputation? Her Facebook page does it perfectly, “Joan Jett has spent her lifetime breaking barriers and challenging expectations – this is, after all, a woman who is both a spokesperson for PETA and a devoted supporter of the US Military. She’s fought hard for all of her historic accomplishments, yet she remains humble and appreciative. ‘I’ve had a blessed career,’ she says. ‘I consider myself so lucky to have been able to do things my own way.'”

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3 Responses

Joan formed the Blackhearts in 1980, not 1982. ’82 was when her second album and the first titled with “Joan Jett and the Blackhearts”, “I Love Rock N’ Roll” was released. Oh and one thing about her fans? We’re everywhere and we’ll call you out on this stuff because some of us are old enough to have been there.

Hi Rebecca. Thanks so much for your feedback. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bio on Joan, “She formed the Blackhearts in 1982…” So we are going to double check that fact with their music historian.

“Pioneer”? No not at all….What about Detroit’s finest, Suzi Quatro? – 50 million albums worldwide, 11 UK Top 40 hit singles, 13 Australian Top 40, 16 Top 40 hits in Germany, 8 x #1 singles worldwide. Leather clad girl rocker heading a male band 10 years BEFORE Joan Jett and the Blackhearts… oh and the band Fanny.. (Jean and June Millington & associates) doing the all girl rock band thing BEFORE the Runaways.. all this while Joan was still in school. Suzi (and Fanny) are the pioneers and should have been inducted well before Joan. Neil Bogart at Boardwalk Records and Kenny Laguna put their promotional clout behind Joan and got her success for her, but it was a decade after Suzi Quatro, and Joan freely acknowledges the debt she owes to Suzi.